Head and Heart are having a fight

Big Ben

Big Ben

Well-Known Member
Joined
11 October 2012
Messages
914
Location
On the frozen prairies
Visit site
Here I am, older re rider dabbling at the lowest levels of dressage, sold my very Western Horse to get something more suitable for English, and ended up with 3 horses, all of which I have emotional attachments to, at various degrees. I can't imagine not owning any of them, heart says keep them.

Then I am searching for something online, to prove to someone that buying is better than breeding, and fall over a dressage school master for sale, competing at 2nd, training at third, rising 15, easy to keep, easy to do, and :eek: reasonably priced. Reasonably priced because out here it is the start of an early, hard winter, and because western horses are the market. Head is screaming, go see him, here is something that you could compete on in the spring and just have fun on straight away with no worries.

Heart says, really really can't sell my mares, so it would be Big Ben that would have to go, and that would be really really hard, despite the fact that he is green as green and it is going to take ages for me to get him anywhere, given my skill level...

Here he is, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHeME7mQA-I

He is a days drive away, right next door in Canadian terms!! should I go see him?
 
Remind me what your Big Ben is like?

I rather like the horse in the link, although I am partial to a big Hanoverian. :o For the money though, might it make more sense to send yours away to have some professional schooling?
 
I'm going to be the voice of doom and say that of your horses I think BB is probably the most suitable for your frame

I'm not sure the horse in the video would be a good bet from this point of view
 
Thank you Billie, already shifted a bunch, should have BIG news at the weigh in tomorrow.

This boy is 17.2 hh, and looks all there to me, not a stripling.

Yes Big Ben, 10 years old, Tb/Perch x Saddlebred, backed only when I bought him last year, 2 months at the trainer this summer, very little riding other than that due to me knee issues/operation and weight problem. Currently grounded again, but starting hopefully in the New Year bringing Ben and I up to scratch.

Emmy the Arab mare is not going anywhere, she stays, even if I never ride her she stays, pasture pet, ornament, in hand trail, she lives here, that's it.

Willow, I WILL ride, don't under estimate the woman on a mission, but *sigh* yes as things stand currently she is the least physically suited to me.
 
you are far too large for this horse-he is a lightweight perhaps bordering on middle if he is properly muscled up.
 
I'm the first person to encourage anyone on a diet but surely its a safer bet to buy a horse for the person you are now and not the person you want to be - that way the lighter you are is a bonus to the horse and not a struggle if he has to carry weight you wanted to lose and didnt

Sorry to sound so negative but as someone with a similar build to BB I just wouldnt consider this myself
 
Well thank you Beans:D

I can understand why people would be reluctant to recommend him given the pics they have seen, and yes I am on a diet, and fricking ROCKING it so far.

I need the naysayers to come up with some positives, it is all well and good saying "You are to big" without having seen me or him in person, but that is only partially helpful.

What is really helpful is saying I would only ask him to carry X or Y or Z

Again, and I really don't want this to be about weight, but I can understand how it is, what do you think the horse weighs?? and what would be the magical 20% ?
 
Beans2000 said:
She is on a frigging diet (well done bb) so please stop saying the horse is not suitable!

Just keep both! One more won't hurt :))
Click to expand...

Beans, while you and BigBen are doing great on your diets, and should be commended for that, she IS too big for that horse and you have to be realistic!! It is not a big horse, just a tall one... I am a big rider too, not doing half as well as the pair of you on my diet, so do know where you're coming from. I wouldn't want to be lied to.

I actually don't think the horse is that special anyway, and wouldn't travel that far to see it. I prefer Ben. I would say stick at the diet, get more weight off, THEN cross that bridge. I would love to be the first to say you look fab on that horse, well done on your weight loss, but thats in the future.

I don't like how these threads get into personal arguements and demands for science and equations etc. If ONE person suggested I was too heavy for my horse I would be listening, if several did, I would take it onboard. Sorry BB, but its true. You're doing great. Keep it up, then go down the new horse route if need be.
 
He's an OK horse, rather than a WOW horse, but it very much depends what your aspirations are. If you want a nice horse to enjoy lower level stuff on, then he is probably a good bet. If you have secret dreams of climbing the levels, he doesn't really have the presence/movement (I'm a little concerned about how flat he moves in front - query early onset arthriits in knees). He's a big horse, and not getting any younger, so I think that if you were to fall in love with him, you need to be prepared to invest some dosh in keeping him ticking over.

If he floats your boat, and you're aware that he probably needs some ongoing TLC, then I think he looks like a nice chap, who is probably pretty easy to live with.
 
Big Ben said:
So what would you estimate his weight carrying ability at? Oh and what weight do you think he is?
Click to expand...

If he is genuinely 17.2, and he does look it, then I would happily put a rider of up to 230lbs on him, maybe just a little more if they ride really well.

The horse is built like mine but 2 inches bigger. He weighed 628 kilos when he was weighed on a weighbridge in May. Make it maximum of 675kg for more bone and height, and 20% would be 135 kilos, thats 300 lbs. I would not put a person of 300lbs on him and expect him to do dressage movements and stay sound.

What weight are you BB?

I agree it would be really unwise to buy a horse for the size of person that you want to be, and not the person who you are now. There are enough unworn clothes in people's wardrobes from doing that, you don't need another unridden horse, or that pressure to stick to your diet either.
 
Last edited:
The horse is 16.3, lightly build, and not a schoolmaster - in fact he looks quite green.
Does he have a history of injury as he doesn't look quite even in the videos.

OP - stick with your boy that is more suited to carrying you and will be at the same standard in a year with more years ahead. (& chance to progress further)

Good luck on the diet but I too have weight problems and there are no guarantees.
 
if this horse is 17/17.2 how would it not cope with the op? unless she is appsoulty enormous????? ',:/
im 13 stone, 5'8 and own a slight 15'3 tb.....are you all going to tell me to not do my medium test on him next weekend?

but the horse does not ONCE track up in trot! this is what would greatly concern me..... it may do 'all the movements' but 1. dressage scores wont be very high, 2. this may be a real problem in the future.
 
Last edited:
I've watched the video now and I would not go to see this horse. I think he has either hock issues or a back problem. Look how he fails to track up in trot (mentioned above too), holds his tail in a very unnatural way, and drags his toes through the dirt all the time. He also appears to have very straight back legs, a bad weakness for a dressage horse.
 
So 16.3 hh not 17.2 hh, very long in the back, not tracking up and dragging its toes. Not ideal. OP why don't you wait until the spring and see how much you weigh then and choose a horse accordingly?
 
Regardless of the weight carrying abilities of the horse, I certainly wouldn't travel for a day's journey to view him. He looks nice enough, if he lived next-door but he's over-bent, his transitions both up and down, particularly down are poor and he could be unlevel. And he's getting older. I can't see him doing particularly well at anything more than the most basic dressage. Stick with Ben.
 
cptrayes said:
That's not the same horse. That's a 2008 model, much younger than this one.
Click to expand...

B****R -got the links crossed somewhere.
Ernie is not sound and I would say not up to more than about 170lb even if sound.
He has very poor conformation and action and why doesn't he have his real name on the video -what are they hiding?
My comments about keeping the horse you know still stand.
 
I'd stick with BB ... looks a nice chap but nothig to cause heartbreak over. Not sure what you weigh but I'm 250ibs and I personally wouldn't feel happy on him, he looks very fine to me.

x
 
Big Ben said:
Jeez people....here is his ad

http://www.warmbloods-for-sale.com/HorseDetail.asp?HorseID=34050&UserID=13530

so yes 17.2hh, and older.

Also from talking to the owner was stood for a couple of years, (rider issue) and has just been brought back, ie, bought out of the field where he was doing nothing and brought back into work.
Click to expand...

What is it that appeals to you?
He looks a gawky, unsound, rather stiff horse that I can't see being able to help you progress and TBH is probably not a horse I'd bother viewing if he were next door.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top